Hanoi – France 2026 Trade and Tourism Promotion Conference: meeting, exchanging and opening new prospects for cooperation
On 4 August 2026, the Hanoi – France 2026 Trade and Tourism Promotion Conference took place at Espace Batignolles in Paris, attended by nearly 60 participants representing Vietnamese and French institutions, businesses, tourism professionals, associations and media.
Organised by the City of Hanoi in partnership with the Embassy of Vietnam in France, the Trade Office of Vietnam in France and the Association for the Culture and Tourism of Vietnam in Europe (VNCT), the conference set out to present the capital’s new development priorities and, above all, to open a direct dialogue with French partners.
From presenting Hanoi’s potential to concrete cooperation
In the first part of the conference, the City of Hanoi delegation presented the capital’s main development priorities and the opportunities for cooperation in trade, investment and tourism.
The presentations covered new urban and infrastructure projects, the green and digital transitions, innovation and the creative industries, while highlighting Hanoi’s strengths in heritage, culture, gastronomy and craft villages.
The conference was held at a particularly favourable time for the growth of relations between Vietnam and France, with a shared determination to turn cooperation frameworks and exchanges between authorities into concrete partnerships between the institutions and businesses of both countries.
In his speech, Mr Vũ Anh Sơn, Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Vietnam in France, particularly stressed the need to go beyond presenting general potential: identifying specific projects and needs, with clearly designated contacts, and ensuring follow-up so that initial contacts can, step by step, become genuine cooperation.
Making Hanoi more attractive to French travellers
In her presentation entitled “The role of businesses in attracting French tourists to Hanoi more effectively”, Dr Lê Y Linh, President of VNCT, proposed measuring the effectiveness of promotion not only by the number of visitors, but also by the length of their stay and the economic value that tourism creates for the area.
The example of Hanoi’s 36 guild streets and craft villages was used to illustrate this approach. Linking the old guild streets to the villages, artisans and skills that gave rise to them could enrich the visitor experience, while enabling artisans, shops and local businesses to benefit more from tourism.
This approach also requires regular exchanges between Vietnamese businesses, who know the ground, and French tourism professionals, who understand the expectations and behaviour of the market.
In this spirit, VNCT wishes to continue playing its role as a bridge between Hanoi, France and, more broadly, Europe, by encouraging the flow of information, bringing partners together and fostering new opportunities for cooperation.
Discussions that carried on into networking
After the official part, the discussions continued in a more relaxed atmosphere over a cocktail reception. The second part, originally planned as a round table, naturally turned into networking, allowing representatives of Hanoi, Vietnamese and French businesses and tourism professionals, institutions and associations to have many direct conversations.
This was precisely one of the main aims of the conference: to give the institutions and businesses of both countries a space to meet, better understand each other’s needs and identify ways to keep the conversation going after the event.
Thank you to everyone who made this meeting possible
VNCT warmly thanks all the participants for attending and for contributing to the quality of the discussions; we also apologise to those who registered in the last two days and whom we were unfortunately unable to welcome, as the room had reached the maximum capacity permitted by safety regulations.
VNCT extends its special thanks to Mr Nguyễn Ánh Dương, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade; to Mr Nguyễn Trần Quang, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism; to the leaders and members of the City of Hanoi delegation; to the representatives of the Embassy and the Trade Office of Vietnam in France; and to the Vietnamese media in France who attended and reported on the event.
Thank you to the VNCT team, directly involved in preparing and organising the conference: Meritorious Artist Tăng Thanh Sơn, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France and founding member of VNCT; Mr Cao Anh Sơn, adviser to the President and Development Director of VNCT; and Ms Phạm Trần Claire, Vietravel France, founding member of VNCT.
Thank you to Mai, who hosted the ceremony, to the City of Hanoi delegation team, to the caterer, to Espace Batignolles, and to the friends and guests who helped us throughout the event.
This meeting would have been meaningless without the presence and contributions of the professionals. VNCT warmly thanks the tour operators and Vietnam specialists, including La Maison des Voyages, NostalAsie, Vietravel France, Amplitudes Internationales, Asieland, Intermède, Parfums du Monde, World4U, L’Art de l’Expérience, Satguru Travel, as well as the other companies and experts who attended the conference.
Thank you to the businesses and economic partners, notably DASTAG-Ing, Alerian International, Viet Pháp Stratégies, Bouygues Construction; to the Franco-Vietnamese associations Vovinam, UGVF, AAFV, AB VietFrance, GCVF; and to all the journalists, consultants, bloggers and partners who supported the programme.
The conference in the press
The Hanoi – France 2026 Trade and Tourism Promotion Conference attracted the interest of many media outlets in France and Vietnam, which reported on Hanoi’s development priorities, the prospects for Franco-Vietnamese cooperation and the discussions with businesses in Paris.
Some articles about the event:
- TourMaG – « Coopération France-Vietnam : Hanoï veut séduire les professionnels français du tourisme »
- Nhân Dân – “Strengthening cooperation in trade, investment and tourism between Hanoi and French partners”
- VietnamPlus – “Hanoi presents its investment and tourism potential to French businesses”
- Vietnam News Agency – “Hanoi strengthens its trade and tourism cooperation with French businesses”
- Thị trường – Thương hiệu – Sản phẩm – “Hanoi strengthens its trade and tourism cooperation with French businesses”
- Mekong ASEAN – “Hanoi holds an investment, trade and tourism promotion conference in France”
- Làng nghề Việt – “Hanoi strengthens cooperation in trade, investment and tourism with French partners”
For VNCT, this conference marks a new milestone in its mission: building lasting bridges between Vietnamese and European partners, so that meetings do not end with a single event but can grow into genuine cooperation in the future.
